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Revision 1.25 by root, Wed Jul 25 21:12:57 2001 UTC vs.
Revision 1.264 by root, Thu Aug 13 02:35:41 2009 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3Coro - coroutine process abstraction 3Coro - the only real threads in perl
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use Coro; 7 use Coro;
8 8
9 async { 9 async {
10 # some asynchronous thread of execution 10 # some asynchronous thread of execution
11 print "2\n";
12 cede; # yield back to main
13 print "4\n";
11 }; 14 };
12 15 print "1\n";
13 # alternatively create an async process like this: 16 cede; # yield to coro
14 17 print "3\n";
15 sub some_func : Coro { 18 cede; # and again
16 # some more async code 19
17 } 20 # use locking
18 21 use Coro::Semaphore;
19 cede; 22 my $lock = new Coro::Semaphore;
23 my $locked;
24
25 $lock->down;
26 $locked = 1;
27 $lock->up;
20 28
21=head1 DESCRIPTION 29=head1 DESCRIPTION
22 30
23This module collection manages coroutines. Coroutines are similar to 31For a tutorial-style introduction, please read the L<Coro::Intro>
24Threads but don't run in parallel. 32manpage. This manpage mainly contains reference information.
25 33
26This module is still experimental, see the BUGS section below. 34This module collection manages continuations in general, most often in
35the form of cooperative threads (also called coros, or simply "coro"
36in the documentation). They are similar to kernel threads but don't (in
37general) run in parallel at the same time even on SMP machines. The
38specific flavor of thread offered by this module also guarantees you that
39it will not switch between threads unless necessary, at easily-identified
40points in your program, so locking and parallel access are rarely an
41issue, making thread programming much safer and easier than using other
42thread models.
27 43
44Unlike the so-called "Perl threads" (which are not actually real threads
45but only the windows process emulation ported to unix, and as such act
46as processes), Coro provides a full shared address space, which makes
47communication between threads very easy. And Coro's threads are fast,
48too: disabling the Windows process emulation code in your perl and using
49Coro can easily result in a two to four times speed increase for your
50programs. A parallel matrix multiplication benchmark runs over 300 times
51faster on a single core than perl's pseudo-threads on a quad core using
52all four cores.
53
54Coro achieves that by supporting multiple running interpreters that share
55data, which is especially useful to code pseudo-parallel processes and
56for event-based programming, such as multiple HTTP-GET requests running
57concurrently. See L<Coro::AnyEvent> to learn more on how to integrate Coro
58into an event-based environment.
59
28In this module, coroutines are defined as "callchain + lexical variables 60In this module, a thread is defined as "callchain + lexical variables +
29+ @_ + $_ + $@ + $^W + C stack), that is, a coroutine has it's own 61some package variables + C stack), that is, a thread has its own callchain,
30callchain, it's own set of lexicals and it's own set of perl's most 62its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global
31important global variables. 63variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration and background info).
64
65See also the C<SEE ALSO> section at the end of this document - the Coro
66module family is quite large.
32 67
33=cut 68=cut
34 69
35package Coro; 70package Coro;
36 71
72use strict qw(vars subs);
73no warnings "uninitialized";
74
75use Guard ();
76
37use Coro::State; 77use Coro::State;
38 78
39use base Exporter; 79use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);
40 80
81our $idle; # idle handler
82our $main; # main coro
83our $current; # current coro
84
41$VERSION = 0.12; 85our $VERSION = 5.162;
42 86
43@EXPORT = qw(async cede schedule terminate current); 87our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub);
44@EXPORT_OK = qw($current); 88our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
89 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
90);
91our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));
45 92
46{ 93=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES
47 my @async;
48 94
49 # this way of handling attributes simply is NOT scalable ;() 95=over 4
50 sub import {
51 Coro->export_to_level(1, @_);
52 my $old = *{(caller)[0]."::MODIFY_CODE_ATTRIBUTES"}{CODE};
53 *{(caller)[0]."::MODIFY_CODE_ATTRIBUTES"} = sub {
54 my ($package, $ref) = (shift, shift);
55 my @attrs;
56 for (@_) {
57 if ($_ eq "Coro") {
58 push @async, $ref;
59 } else {
60 push @attrs, $_;
61 }
62 }
63 return $old ? $old->($package, $ref, @attrs) : @attrs;
64 };
65 }
66 96
67 sub INIT {
68 &async(pop @async) while @async;
69 }
70}
71
72=item $main 97=item $Coro::main
73 98
74This coroutine represents the main program. 99This variable stores the Coro object that represents the main
100program. While you cna C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to
101coro, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see
102whether you are running in the main program or not.
75 103
76=cut 104=cut
77 105
78our $main = new Coro; 106# $main is now being initialised by Coro::State
79 107
80=item $current (or as function: current) 108=item $Coro::current
81 109
82The current coroutine (the last coroutine switched to). The initial value is C<$main> (of course). 110The Coro object representing the current coro (the last
111coro that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is
112C<$Coro::main> (of course).
83 113
84=cut 114This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the
115value stored in it and use it as any other Coro object, but you must
116not otherwise modify the variable itself.
85 117
86# maybe some other module used Coro::Specific before... 118=cut
87if ($current) {
88 $main->{specific} = $current->{specific};
89}
90 119
91our $current = $main;
92
93sub current() { $current } 120sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]
94 121
95=item $idle 122=item $Coro::idle
96 123
97The coroutine to switch to when no other coroutine is running. The default 124This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is
98implementation prints "FATAL: deadlock detected" and exits. 125usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or L<Coro::EV>, as this is
126pretty low-level functionality.
99 127
100=cut 128This variable stores either a Coro object or a callback.
101 129
102# should be done using priorities :( 130If it is a callback, the it is called whenever the scheduler finds no
103our $idle = new Coro sub { 131ready coros to run. The default implementation prints "FATAL:
104 print STDERR "FATAL: deadlock detected\n"; 132deadlock detected" and exits, because the program has no other way to
105 exit(51); 133continue.
134
135If it is a coro object, then this object will be readied (without
136invoking any ready hooks, however) when the scheduler finds no other ready
137coros to run.
138
139This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::EV> and
140C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wake up a
141coro so the scheduler can run it.
142
143Note that the callback I<must not>, under any circumstances, block
144the current coro. Normally, this is achieved by having an "idle
145coro" that calls the event loop and then blocks again, and then
146readying that coro in the idle handler, or by simply placing the idle
147coro in this variable.
148
149See L<Coro::Event> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this
150technique.
151
152Please note that if your callback recursively invokes perl (e.g. for event
153handlers), then it must be prepared to be called recursively itself.
154
155=cut
156
157$idle = sub {
158 require Carp;
159 Carp::croak ("FATAL: deadlock detected");
106}; 160};
107 161
108# this coroutine is necessary because a coroutine 162# this coro is necessary because a coro
109# cannot destroy itself. 163# cannot destroy itself.
110my @destroy; 164our @destroy;
165our $manager;
166
111my $manager = new Coro sub { 167$manager = new Coro sub {
112 while() { 168 while () {
113 delete ((pop @destroy)->{_coro_state}) while @destroy; 169 Coro::State::cancel shift @destroy
170 while @destroy;
171
114 &schedule; 172 &schedule;
115 } 173 }
116}; 174};
175$manager->{desc} = "[coro manager]";
176$manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);
117 177
118# we really need priorities... 178=back
119my @ready; # the ready queue. hehe, rather broken ;)
120 179
121# static methods. not really. 180=head1 SIMPLE CORO CREATION
122
123=head2 STATIC METHODS
124
125Static methods are actually functions that operate on the current process only.
126 181
127=over 4 182=over 4
128 183
129=item async { ... } [@args...] 184=item async { ... } [@args...]
130 185
131Create a new asynchronous process and return it's process object 186Create a new coro and return its Coro object (usually
132(usually unused). When the sub returns the new process is automatically 187unused). The coro will be put into the ready queue, so
188it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.
189
190The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the
191coro. When it returns argument returns the coro is automatically
133terminated. 192terminated.
134 193
194The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.
195
196See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coro
197environment in which coro are executed.
198
199Calling C<exit> in a coro will do the same as calling exit outside
200the coro. Likewise, when the coro dies, the program will exit,
201just as it would in the main program.
202
203If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or
204simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).
205
135 # create a new coroutine that just prints its arguments 206Example: Create a new coro that just prints its arguments.
207
136 async { 208 async {
137 print "@_\n"; 209 print "@_\n";
138 } 1,2,3,4; 210 } 1,2,3,4;
139 211
140The coderef you submit MUST NOT be a closure that refers to variables 212=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
141in an outer scope. This does NOT work. Pass arguments into it instead.
142 213
143=cut 214Similar to C<async>, but uses a coro pool, so you should not call
215terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a
216coro that might have executed other code already (which can be good
217or bad :).
144 218
145sub async(&@) { 219On the plus side, this function is about twice as fast as creating (and
146 my $pid = new Coro @_; 220destroying) a completely new coro, so if you need a lot of generic
147 $manager->ready; # this ensures that the stack is cloned from the manager 221coros in quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
148 $pid->ready; 222
149 $pid; 223The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
224issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
225C<async> does. As the coro is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
226will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
227which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
228exceptional case).
229
230The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
231disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
232gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coro will
233be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coro global
234stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
235simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
236
237The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coros (this can be
238adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
239coros as required.
240
241If you are concerned about pooled coros growing a lot because a
242single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool
243{ terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
244addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 32kb
245(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
246
247=cut
248
249our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
250our $POOL_RSS = 32 * 1024;
251our @async_pool;
252
253sub pool_handler {
254 while () {
255 eval {
256 &{&_pool_handler} while 1;
257 };
258
259 warn $@ if $@;
260 }
150} 261}
151 262
263=back
264
265=head1 STATIC METHODS
266
267Static methods are actually functions that implicitly operate on the
268current coro.
269
270=over 4
271
152=item schedule 272=item schedule
153 273
154Calls the scheduler. Please note that the current process will not be put 274Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coro that is
275to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coro
276to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
277in its ready queue. If there is no coro ready, it will clal the
278C<$Coro::idle> hook.
279
280Please note that the current coro will I<not> be put into the ready
155into the ready queue, so calling this function usually means you will 281queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
156never be called again. 282again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
283thus waking you up.
157 284
158=cut 285This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
286coro and wait for events: first you remember the current coro in
287a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
288>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
289yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coro up,
290so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
291status in a variable.
159 292
160my $prev; 293See B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK>, below, for some ways to wait for callbacks.
161 294
162sub schedule { 295=item cede
163 # should be done using priorities :( 296
164 ($prev, $current) = ($current, shift @ready || $idle); 297"Cede" to other coros. This function puts the current coro into
165 Coro::State::transfer($prev, $current); 298the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
299up the current "timeslice" to other coros of the same or higher
300priority. Once your coro gets its turn again it will automatically be
301resumed.
302
303This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
304
305=item Coro::cede_notself
306
307Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
308coro, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
309progress is made.
310
311=item terminate [arg...]
312
313Terminates the current coro with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
314
315=item Coro::on_enter BLOCK, Coro::on_leave BLOCK
316
317These function install enter and leave winders in the current scope. The
318enter block will be executed when on_enter is called and whenever the
319current coro is re-entered by the scheduler, while the leave block is
320executed whenever the current coro is blocked by the scheduler, and
321also when the containing scope is exited (by whatever means, be it exit,
322die, last etc.).
323
324I<Neither invoking the scheduler, nor exceptions, are allowed within those
325BLOCKs>. That means: do not even think about calling C<die> without an
326eval, and do not even think of entering the scheduler in any way.
327
328Since both BLOCKs are tied to the current scope, they will automatically
329be removed when the current scope exits.
330
331These functions implement the same concept as C<dynamic-wind> in scheme
332does, and are useful when you want to localise some resource to a specific
333coro.
334
335They slow down thread switching considerably for coros that use them
336(about 40% for a BLOCK with a single assignment, so thread switching is
337still reasonably fast if the handlers are fast).
338
339These functions are best understood by an example: The following function
340will change the current timezone to "Antarctica/South_Pole", which
341requires a call to C<tzset>, but by using C<on_enter> and C<on_leave>,
342which remember/change the current timezone and restore the previous
343value, respectively, the timezone is only changed for the coro that
344installed those handlers.
345
346 use POSIX qw(tzset);
347
348 async {
349 my $old_tz; # store outside TZ value here
350
351 Coro::on_enter {
352 $old_tz = $ENV{TZ}; # remember the old value
353
354 $ENV{TZ} = "Antarctica/South_Pole";
355 tzset; # enable new value
356 };
357
358 Coro::on_leave {
359 $ENV{TZ} = $old_tz;
360 tzset; # restore old value
361 };
362
363 # at this place, the timezone is Antarctica/South_Pole,
364 # without disturbing the TZ of any other coro.
365 };
366
367This can be used to localise about any resource (locale, uid, current
368working directory etc.) to a block, despite the existance of other
369coros.
370
371Another interesting example implements time-sliced multitasking using
372interval timers (this could obviously be optimised, but does the job):
373
374 # "timeslice" the given block
375 sub timeslice(&) {
376 use Time::HiRes ();
377
378 Coro::on_enter {
379 # on entering the thread, we set an VTALRM handler to cede
380 $SIG{VTALRM} = sub { cede };
381 # and then start the interval timer
382 Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0.01, 0.01;
383 };
384 Coro::on_leave {
385 # on leaving the thread, we stop the interval timer again
386 Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0, 0;
387 };
388
389 &{+shift};
390 }
391
392 # use like this:
393 timeslice {
394 # The following is an endless loop that would normally
395 # monopolise the process. Since it runs in a timesliced
396 # environment, it will regularly cede to other threads.
397 while () { }
398 };
399
400
401=item killall
402
403Kills/terminates/cancels all coros except the currently running one.
404
405Note that while this will try to free some of the main interpreter
406resources if the calling coro isn't the main coro, but one
407cannot free all of them, so if a coro that is not the main coro
408calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
409
410=cut
411
412sub killall {
413 for (Coro::State::list) {
414 $_->cancel
415 if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
416 }
166} 417}
167 418
168=item cede
169
170"Cede" to other processes. This function puts the current process into the
171ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving up the
172current "timeslice" to other coroutines of the same or higher priority.
173
174=cut
175
176sub cede {
177 $current->ready;
178 &schedule;
179}
180
181=item terminate
182
183Terminates the current process.
184
185Future versions of this function will allow result arguments.
186
187=cut
188
189sub terminate {
190 push @destroy, $current;
191 $manager->ready;
192 &schedule;
193 # NORETURN
194}
195
196=back 419=back
197 420
198# dynamic methods 421=head1 CORO OBJECT METHODS
199 422
200=head2 PROCESS METHODS
201
202These are the methods you can call on process objects. 423These are the methods you can call on coro objects (or to create
424them).
203 425
204=over 4 426=over 4
205 427
206=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...] 428=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
207 429
208Create a new process and return it. When the sub returns the process 430Create a new coro and return it. When the sub returns, the coro
209automatically terminates. To start the process you must first put it into 431automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were
432called. To make the coro run you must first put it into the ready
210the ready queue by calling the ready method. 433queue by calling the ready method.
211 434
212The coderef you submit MUST NOT be a closure that refers to variables 435See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
213in an outer scope. This does NOT work. Pass arguments into it instead. 436coro environment.
214 437
215=cut 438=cut
216 439
217sub _newcoro { 440sub _coro_run {
218 terminate &{+shift}; 441 terminate &{+shift};
219} 442}
220 443
444=item $success = $coro->ready
445
446Put the given coro into the end of its ready queue (there is one
447queue for each priority) and return true. If the coro is already in
448the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
449
450This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coro automatically
451once all the coro of higher priority and all coro of the same
452priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
453
454=item $coro->suspend
455
456Suspends the specified coro. A suspended coro works just like any other
457coro, except that the scheduler will not select a suspended coro for
458execution.
459
460Suspending a coro can be useful when you want to keep the coro from
461running, but you don't want to destroy it, or when you want to temporarily
462freeze a coro (e.g. for debugging) to resume it later.
463
464A scenario for the former would be to suspend all (other) coros after a
465fork and keep them alive, so their destructors aren't called, but new
466coros can be created.
467
468=item $coro->resume
469
470If the specified coro was suspended, it will be resumed. Note that when
471the coro was in the ready queue when it was suspended, it might have been
472unreadied by the scheduler, so an activation might have been lost.
473
474To avoid this, it is best to put a suspended coro into the ready queue
475unconditionally, as every synchronisation mechanism must protect itself
476against spurious wakeups, and the one in the Coro family certainly do
477that.
478
479=item $is_ready = $coro->is_ready
480
481Returns true iff the Coro object is in the ready queue. Unless the Coro
482object gets destroyed, it will eventually be scheduled by the scheduler.
483
484=item $is_running = $coro->is_running
485
486Returns true iff the Coro object is currently running. Only one Coro object
487can ever be in the running state (but it currently is possible to have
488multiple running Coro::States).
489
490=item $is_suspended = $coro->is_suspended
491
492Returns true iff this Coro object has been suspended. Suspended Coros will
493not ever be scheduled.
494
495=item $coro->cancel (arg...)
496
497Terminates the given Coro and makes it return the given arguments as
498status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the Coro is the
499current Coro.
500
501=cut
502
221sub new { 503sub cancel {
222 my $class = shift; 504 my $self = shift;
223 bless { 505
224 _coro_state => (new Coro::State $_[0] && \&_newcoro, @_), 506 if ($current == $self) {
225 }, $class; 507 terminate @_;
508 } else {
509 $self->{_status} = [@_];
510 Coro::State::cancel $self;
511 }
226} 512}
227 513
228=item $process->ready 514=item $coro->schedule_to
229 515
230Put the current process into the ready queue. 516Puts the current coro to sleep (like C<Coro::schedule>), but instead
517of continuing with the next coro from the ready queue, always switch to
518the given coro object (regardless of priority etc.). The readyness
519state of that coro isn't changed.
231 520
232=cut 521This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
522uses for this one.
233 523
234sub ready { 524=item $coro->cede_to
235 push @ready, $_[0]; 525
526Like C<schedule_to>, but puts the current coro into the ready
527queue. This has the effect of temporarily switching to the given
528coro, and continuing some time later.
529
530This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
531uses for this one.
532
533=item $coro->throw ([$scalar])
534
535If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
536inside the coro at the next convenient point in time. Otherwise
537clears the exception object.
538
539Coro will check for the exception each time a schedule-like-function
540returns, i.e. after each C<schedule>, C<cede>, C<< Coro::Semaphore->down
541>>, C<< Coro::Handle->readable >> and so on. Most of these functions
542detect this case and return early in case an exception is pending.
543
544The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
545C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
546(unlike with C<die>).
547
548This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coro to
549end itself, although there is no guarantee that the exception will lead to
550termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole
551program.
552
553You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
554C<kill>ing a coro with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
555
556=item $coro->join
557
558Wait until the coro terminates and return any values given to the
559C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
560from multiple coro, and all will be resumed and given the status
561return once the C<$coro> terminates.
562
563=cut
564
565sub join {
566 my $self = shift;
567
568 unless ($self->{_status}) {
569 my $current = $current;
570
571 push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {
572 $current->ready;
573 undef $current;
574 };
575
576 &schedule while $current;
577 }
578
579 wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
236} 580}
237 581
582=item $coro->on_destroy (\&cb)
583
584Registers a callback that is called when this coro gets destroyed,
585but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
586if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
587
588=cut
589
590sub on_destroy {
591 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
592
593 push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
594}
595
596=item $oldprio = $coro->prio ($newprio)
597
598Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
599coro. Higher priority coro get run before lower priority
600coro. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
601that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
602to get then):
603
604 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
605 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
606
607 # set priority to HIGH
608 current->prio (PRIO_HIGH);
609
610The idle coro ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
611existing coro.
612
613Changing the priority of the current coro will take effect immediately,
614but changing the priority of coro in the ready queue (but not
615running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
616coro). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
617
618=item $newprio = $coro->nice ($change)
619
620Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
621higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
622
623=item $olddesc = $coro->desc ($newdesc)
624
625Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
626coro. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
627coro.
628
629This method simply sets the C<< $coro->{desc} >> member to the given
630string. You can modify this member directly if you wish.
631
632=cut
633
634sub desc {
635 my $old = $_[0]{desc};
636 $_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
637 $old;
638}
639
640sub transfer {
641 require Carp;
642 Carp::croak ("You must not call ->transfer on Coro objects. Use Coro::State objects or the ->schedule_to method. Caught");
643}
644
238=back 645=back
239 646
647=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
648
649=over 4
650
651=item Coro::nready
652
653Returns the number of coro that are currently in the ready state,
654i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
655indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coro is the
656currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
657would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
658coro.
659
660=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
661
662This function still exists, but is deprecated. Please use the
663C<Guard::guard> function instead.
664
665=cut
666
667BEGIN { *guard = \&Guard::guard }
668
669=item unblock_sub { ... }
670
671This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
672returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
673will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
674original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
675coro.
676
677The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the
678venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not thread-safe (a weaker form
679of reentrancy). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
680otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
681currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.
682
683This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
684coro where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
685is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
686disk, for example.
687
688In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
689creating event callbacks that want to block.
690
691If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
692another coro, or puts some other coro into the ready queue), there is
693no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
694
695Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
696are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
697use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
698provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
699must not block either, or use C<unblock_sub>.
700
701=cut
702
703our @unblock_queue;
704
705# we create a special coro because we want to cede,
706# to reduce pressure on the coro pool (because most callbacks
707# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
708# inside an event callback.
709our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
710 while () {
711 while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
712 &async_pool (@$cb);
713
714 # for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
715 # as the chance is very high that the async_poll coro will be back
716 # in the idle state when cede returns
717 cede;
718 }
719 schedule; # sleep well
720 }
721};
722$unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
723
724sub unblock_sub(&) {
725 my $cb = shift;
726
727 sub {
728 unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
729 $unblock_scheduler->ready;
730 }
731}
732
733=item $cb = Coro::rouse_cb
734
735Create and return a "rouse callback". That's a code reference that,
736when called, will remember a copy of its arguments and notify the owner
737coro of the callback.
738
739See the next function.
740
741=item @args = Coro::rouse_wait [$cb]
742
743Wait for the specified rouse callback (or the last one that was created in
744this coro).
745
746As soon as the callback is invoked (or when the callback was invoked
747before C<rouse_wait>), it will return the arguments originally passed to
748the rouse callback. In scalar context, that means you get the I<last>
749argument, just as if C<rouse_wait> had a C<return ($a1, $a2, $a3...)>
750statement at the end.
751
752See the section B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK> for an actual usage example.
753
754=back
755
240=cut 756=cut
241 757
2421; 7581;
243 759
760=head1 HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK
761
762It is very common for a coro to wait for some callback to be
763called. This occurs naturally when you use coro in an otherwise
764event-based program, or when you use event-based libraries.
765
766These typically register a callback for some event, and call that callback
767when the event occured. In a coro, however, you typically want to
768just wait for the event, simplyifying things.
769
770For example C<< AnyEvent->child >> registers a callback to be called when
771a specific child has exited:
772
773 my $child_watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { ... });
774
775But from within a coro, you often just want to write this:
776
777 my $status = wait_for_child $pid;
778
779Coro offers two functions specifically designed to make this easy,
780C<Coro::rouse_cb> and C<Coro::rouse_wait>.
781
782The first function, C<rouse_cb>, generates and returns a callback that,
783when invoked, will save its arguments and notify the coro that
784created the callback.
785
786The second function, C<rouse_wait>, waits for the callback to be called
787(by calling C<schedule> to go to sleep) and returns the arguments
788originally passed to the callback.
789
790Using these functions, it becomes easy to write the C<wait_for_child>
791function mentioned above:
792
793 sub wait_for_child($) {
794 my ($pid) = @_;
795
796 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => Coro::rouse_cb);
797
798 my ($rpid, $rstatus) = Coro::rouse_wait;
799 $rstatus
800 }
801
802In the case where C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait> are not flexible enough,
803you can roll your own, using C<schedule>:
804
805 sub wait_for_child($) {
806 my ($pid) = @_;
807
808 # store the current coro in $current,
809 # and provide result variables for the closure passed to ->child
810 my $current = $Coro::current;
811 my ($done, $rstatus);
812
813 # pass a closure to ->child
814 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
815 $rstatus = $_[1]; # remember rstatus
816 $done = 1; # mark $rstatus as valud
817 });
818
819 # wait until the closure has been called
820 schedule while !$done;
821
822 $rstatus
823 }
824
825
244=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS 826=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
245 827
246 - could be faster, especially when the core would introduce special 828=over 4
247 support for coroutines (like it does for threads). 829
248 - there is still a memleak on coroutine termination that I could not 830=item fork with pthread backend
249 identify. Could be as small as a single SV. 831
250 - this module is not well-tested. 832When Coro is compiled using the pthread backend (which isn't recommended
251 - if variables or arguments "disappear" (become undef) or become 833but required on many BSDs as their libcs are completely broken), then
252 corrupted please contact the author so he cen iron out the 834coro will not survive a fork. There is no known workaround except to
253 remaining bugs. 835fix your libc and use a saner backend.
254 - this module is not thread-safe. You must only ever use this module from 836
255 the same thread (this requirement might be loosened in the future to 837=item perl process emulation ("threads")
838
839This module is not perl-pseudo-thread-safe. You should only ever use this
840module from the first thread (this requirement might be removed in the
256 allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow this). 841future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
842this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
843the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
844performance, even when not used.
845
846=item coro switching is not signal safe
847
848You must not switch to another coro from within a signal handler
849(only relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals).
850
851That means you I<MUST NOT> call any function that might "block" the
852current coro - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
853anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
854works.
855
856=back
857
257 858
258=head1 SEE ALSO 859=head1 SEE ALSO
259 860
260L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Cont>, L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Semaphore>, 861Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
261L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::State>, L<Coro::Event>, L<Coro::RWLock>, 862
262L<Coro::L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>. 863Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
864
865Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
866
867Locking and IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,
868L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
869
870I/O and Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
871
872Compatibility with other modules: L<Coro::LWP> (but see also L<AnyEvent::HTTP> for
873a better-working alternative), L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>,
874L<Coro::Select>.
875
876XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
877
878Low level Configuration, Thread Environment, Continuations: L<Coro::State>.
263 879
264=head1 AUTHOR 880=head1 AUTHOR
265 881
266 Marc Lehmann <pcg@goof.com> 882 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
267 http://www.goof.com/pcg/marc/ 883 http://home.schmorp.de/
268 884
269=cut 885=cut
270 886

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